Scottish Catholic Observer

Packie Bonner is one of Celtic and the Republic of Ireland’s most iconic keepers. He played an astonishing 641 times for Celtic and remains the  Parkhead club’s most capped player. Mr Bonner also earned 80 caps for his country and played an essential role in two World Cups and the 1988 European Championships. The big Irish gentleman from County Donegal was part of a memorable winning Celtic side that secured four Scottish League Championships, three Scottish Cups and one League Cup.

His entertaining new book The Last Line is an often humorous and inspiring reflection packed with anecdotes about his life journey and his story gives some indication of the early sacrifices and obstacles he had to overcome to become one of the most recognisable goalkeepers of his generation. Notably he was Jock Stein’s last signing for Celtic in May 1978. The Big Man travelled to Ireland to secure the player’s name on a contract setting Mr Bonner on course.

“Jock was near the end of his time at Celtic and things weren’t going well,” he explains. “We met at a hotel in Ireland, it had been a rough time for him, there had been a lot of defeats when I was on trial but it was the larger than life presence of the man and what he had to say. My impression was that he was a little bit haunted, he was maybe near the end of things.”

Mr Bonner made his debut for Celtic at Parkhead on St Patrick’s Day in 1979 in a 2-1 victory over Motherwell. He was an essential staple in various Celtic sides throughout the 1980s becoming a household name in the process, undoubtedly it was an era that many remember as one of the most  exuberant chapters in the club’s history. The 1982-83 season was a hard fought and tight campaign with a number of prodigious new sides coming to the fore.

“The competition was Dundee United and Aberdeen but also Hearts were a quality side and going through to Easter Road was never easy,” Mr Bonner explains. “There was very good competition in the 1980s and it was brilliant to be around it. We could have won the league four years on the trot, we threw it away against Dundee United when they won it for the first time, they had to come to Parkhead and get a result. We should have beat them.”

Tommy Burns is one of many essential figures in Mr Bonner’s story. The book refers to one famous bust-up with then Celtic manager Billy McNeil.

“Billy had made a remark about Bobby (Lennox) carrying the team and Tommy took exception,” Mr Bonner says. “He would make his point, he was young, brash and Celtic through and through but it’s not easy to stand against Big Billy. I had bust ups with Tommy, he had that fire in him and on that pitch he turned into a demon, he turned into mad man and the guys couldn’t believe this. His drive was to always play better, he became the kind of player that was always thinking about what he had to do to make the changes happen that were necessary for the game. He calmed down, he had his religion and it helped him in that way. He would be going to training and you would see the mad eyes, the temper and him not happy with things but he would then go into St Michael’s chapel to reflect and he would approach things a different man.”

Mr Bonner also returned to Celtic under Tommy who was appointed manager of the club in July 1994. His final match was fittingly a Scottish Cup win over Airdrie in 1995. The new decade heralded an uphill struggle for the club and its support.

“When Tommy became Celtic manager he brought me back to the club, Mr Bonner says. “I probably would have only went back for Tommy, I think, I don’t know but it’s hard to say. To win a cup final at that time when you consider that I was free the year before was quite remarkable and I only can thank Tommy and Billy (Stark) for giving me that opportunity. It was a dark time and Tommy needed a result. It wasn’t the best game in the world and we were under pressure, but to achieve it for Tommy and for the fans was something special. It was a unique day for us all.”

Undoubtedly the subject of Faith also comes up in The Last Line and there are many stories that gladden the spirit. Periods recovering from injury are frustrating in the professional life of any player, particularly keepers, but Mr Bonner had been fortunate until he had to undergo a hernia operation in 1983. He recuperated at the Bon Secours Hospital in Glasgow, which was run privately by nuns.

“I had decided to rest while watching the Aberdeen v Rangers Scottish Cup final. About five to three there was a knock at the door. I ignored it, but there was another knock so I said: ‘Come in.’ It was this wee nun, she was tiny. She said: ‘Are you Packie Bonner? I said: ‘Yes.’ ‘Oh’ she said ‘I’m from a closed order and I’m also in for an operation.’ I turned the television off and I missed the entire match including extra time, the wee chat lasted two hours. Later on I decided to go down to Mass, there were quite a few nuns and I was the only layperson in. I’m trying to do all the right things, but just as the priest is about to bless everybody, this wee nun with Mass still going on turned and said to me: ‘You wouldn’t mind signing that Bible for me Packie?’”

The Catholic links between Celtic and the Church are impossible to separate, but it was partly due to Mr Bonner’s heroics playing for Ireland and a famous penalty save against Romania (above main) that led to the Ireland team’s audience with Pope John Paul II.

“It was incredible,” Mr Bonner says. “I was brought out to the front to meet him and he put his hand on my shoulder and spoke to me about him being a keeper himself when he was young. It was a magnificent thing to happen and it was the icing on the cake—you couldn’t have dreamed it up.”

Since retiring from the beautiful game he can often be seen working in punditry for television and radio. He has served as a technical director of the Football Association of Ireland and has worked as a business and sports consultant for UEFA, FIFA and Paralympics Ireland. His passion for young people and their education as well as charity work shines through in his remarkable story. Undoubtedly the game has changed beyond recognition since his first match at Celtic Park in 1979. I wonder what advice would he offer to the budding Hoops stars of tomorrow?

“For me they have to be very focused and prepare properly, don’t take it for granted, that’s for sure,” he says. “There’s a lot of steps to get to the top, some kids sign and they think that’s it but you have to set out clear and realistic goals in front of you. If you get a chance you have to be ready, set yourself goals and work hard at it every day for when the time comes. If you are out of the team, this happens when players have a taste of it, they go into a bit of a huff and down tools. Then when they get another chance-they are not ready. Use the time to get yourself ready and listen to people, don’t ever think that you know it all.”

— Packie Bonner: The Last Line written with Gerard McDade is out now priced £20.